


Her Own Way

by not_MY_culture



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom
Genre: BAMF Hermione Granger, Dark!Hermione, F/M, Sane Tom Riddle, Sentient Hogwarts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:41:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24047593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/not_MY_culture/pseuds/not_MY_culture
Summary: As Hermione’s best friends drop one by one in the Final Battle, her magic begins to spin out of her control. In a time of great need, Hogwarts sentient magic merges with the soul of Hermione. Sensing her wish for a second chance at Tom Riddle, to do things differently, she is thrown back in time to where Tom Riddle is at his most vulnerable; Hogwarts 1942. Unable to trust Dumbledore anymore, Hermione makes her own way.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Tom Riddle
Comments: 7
Kudos: 98





	Her Own Way

**Author's Note:**

> This story begins directly after Fred Weasley dies. This is going to be a slow burn between Tom and Hermione. She is never going to be submissive though...not in her makeup I suppose. Reviews are always welcome and appreciated!
> 
> Harry Potter will forever belong to the infamous JK Rowling.

Hermione Granger often, habitually, repressed her emotions. Having two male best friends did not help her dissuade this habit, but instead garnered it so as not to appear as the moody teenage girl they perceived her to be. Today was no different. 

Her swift footsteps, and those of her two best friends as well, echoed off the stone castle walls that had become so familiar to her as a child. Her worn feet could feel the rubble from past explosions slip and crunch under her as she ran by. Her despair over the lost life of a friend was repressed and pushed to the side as she leaped over a fallen suit of armor and under a torn tapestry into a hidden passageway where she stopped, whirling around to face her companions.

“What do we do now Harry?” Hermione determinedly questioned.

“I...I don’t know” he responded dazedly, the grime from the explosion covering his face except for untainted skin that was continually cleansed by the silent stream of tears.

“Well, do you feel where Nagini is? The diadem and the cup are gone, so Nagini is the last one left, right?! Just one more and this will all be over.” Hermione said with a certain level of exhaustion that expressed months worth of strain.

“...you’re forgetting that I still have to actually kill Voldem--” Harry began to mutter before a loud noise shuttered the walls of Hogwarts, shaking the rubble on the blood stained floors. A high pitched, feminine scream echoed before suddenly gurgling out of existence. 

“Great,” mumbles Ron numbly, “just great, first Fred goes and gets himself exploded and now this.”

Harry and Hermione share a look of sympathy for Ron and his lost brother before turning to rush out of the hidden passageway and down the stairs leading to the Great Hall. Hermione, as she ran, felt the familiar weight of her wand clutched into her hand and then her magic, as though sensing her focused nature and overall emotional strain, responded to her stationary wand with a rush of energy. Her eyes snapped down to her wand as it lets off a stream of dark red sparks that land on the ground creating dark scorch marks. 

Breathe, Hermione tried to think calmly as she deliberately sucked in a long breath. 

Harry shot her a look that she could immediately interpret as, ‘Now is not the time.’

A small groan pulled their attention from Hermione’s uncontrollable magic to the bottom of the Great Hall stairs where they instantly identified the man as Fenrir Greyback. His groaning form was laid parrell on top of another body. Hermione distantly wondered if they were fighting and had fallen, but as he shifted once again with a groan, the bloodied face of a lifeless Lavender Brown was revealed. 

Kill him! Her mind screams at her. In a daze, she raises her wand with Harry and Ron but her reflexes spur her to fire the curse first.

“Reducto.” she speaks calmly, aim true. The curse, though usually a ball of pure light, is tinted with the dark red of her magic as it slams into Greyback's turned head. At most, she thinks, the curse should have blasted him away. It didn’t. When the curse impacted with his cranium, a sickening crack is heard as Greybacks skull is fractured in two.

Blood flies from the mangled corpse, covering Lavender’s pale body in a tribute of revenge. Hermione’s mind blanks with horrified shock. 

Does it really matter if he dies? Her mind asks vindictively, A quick death was an adequate punishment for his crimes.

Ron rushes towards his fallen lover, her name on his lips. Hermione watches lethargically as he drops to his knees beside her and frantically checks her pulse. His panicked movements do not stop as he moves his hands over her now slick torso to start muggle chest compressions. Hermione notes with odd detail that Ron’s tears mix with Greyback’s blood on Lavender’s exposed torso. Harry begins to walk towards Ron, stepping like one would when walking towards an injured animal; cautious and sympathetic.

“Ron..” begins Harry as he approaches, once again he is cut off by a shout. The voice is painstakingly familiar.

The entrance doors swing open with a faint hiss, the residual magic from a powerful Confringo apparent on the surface of the doors. Hermione stifles a gasp as a battered Remus Lupin with his equally torn robes rushes through the door, heavily breathing and fully focused on the duel that is quickly wearing him down.

“Locomotor Mortis!” shout Remus, desperation licking his words.

As his assailant, Antonin Dolohov, walks into the hall, a smug “Protego,” is heard. 

Dolohov continues with confidence, “We are not in 5th year anymore. Your weak spells will never harm a follower of the Dark Lord. It is time you heel, mutt.”

As their duel continues, Hermione realizes with a start that they have yet to notice her and Harry and she analytically assessed that the best move would be to curse Dolohov while he is focused on Remus. The magic from Remus’s frantic defensive spells and Dolohov’s progressively dark curses leave the air feeling hot and intense and Hermione registers this quietly as she aims her arm at Dolohov to shout Stupefy.

“Remus!” calls Harry with relief as he realizes seconds after Hermione does that Remus has yet to notice him. Remus’s attention strays from Dolohov as his name is called to look at their shaken group. His eyes sweep over the scene before him before landing on Hermione’s eyes as she begins to sprint towards him.

Hermione notes as she approaches that the intense focus that adrenaline and fear stimulates leave his eyes for confusion before realization sets in around them as they both hear the victorious “Diffindo!”

Hermione stretches out her hands in a desperate attempt to reach Remus, she is only feet away from her goal. She shrieks in anger and hopelessness as the curse hits him directly in his jugular, provoking a small ‘oh’ to fall from his lips. 

She braves the last few feet to Remus and presses her outstretched hand to the wound. Her small hands struggle to find purchase on the gushing slice as the blood gathers on her robes and face. She hears a faint thud that she somberly notes as Harry falling to his knees as she continues to say “It’s alright. It’s gonna be alright, Remus. Everything's gonna be ok.”

Remus, life draining from his eyes, dazedly raises a hand to cover the wound and her hands, says weakly, “Hermione” before falling to the ground, lifeless.

Anger floods through her as she spins, eyes blazing, towards Dolohov. Time stops. Rage forgotten, she stands petrified looking at Dolohov’s prone form aiming a self-assured wand towards the fallen Harry. Harry, again, does not realize the situation as he has eyes only for another fallen parental figure. Dolohov stands, once again smugly, with his wand aimed steadily at Harry's prone form. 

"Harry, watch out!" Hermione screams, voice breaking with desperation. 

Harry finally takes in the hopeless situation; he notices the wand trained on his person. As he stares up the wand to the blood splattered face of his assailant, Hermione notes the change in his once defiant posture. His slumped, defeated form stares calmly up at death as Dolohov speaks the familiar words vindictively.

"Avada Kedavra!"

A horror filled shriek tears from Hermione's throat as the green light speeds towards Harry unmoving form. Seconds before it lands it mark, a strong war cry echoes her scream. Ron had left Lavenders side. Hermione notes an expression on his face that she has seen many times on Harry's; Ron, for once, is about to perform a selfless act of bravery true to his house. He rushes towards Harry, racing against the deadly light and reaches him just in time to push him out of harm's way. A sickening crack pierces the air as Harry’s head impacts the ground. Having been pushed sideways, he doesn’t see the vibrant green light make contact with his best friend, he only hears the resulting thud next to him.

Hermione watches as Harry slowly turns to face the body, but her world shrinks to only the lifeless pale blue eyes still open wide in fear. Just like with Remus, she can almost feel the life leaving, her friend gone forever and like before, her rage consumes her. She feels the dark red of her magic slowly filling her body, almost burning in its intensity. Vaguely she hears Harry’s cries for his fallen friend and the demented laughter of Dolohov. What she doesn’t notice however, too focused on the red burn building inside her, is Dolohov sensing the opportune moment to summon his master, the Dark Lord. He rolls up his sleeve, presses his wand into the dark writhing snakes, and continues to laugh as he can feel the Dark Lord respond to his call.

She can feel it. Hermione feels the dark magic of Voldemort and before she can comprehend what happened, the dark red of her magic explodes from her body and straight into Dolohov’s. As soon as the magic made contact with his skin, he bursts from the inside out and sprays Hermione with bits of skin and organs. Shocked by her latent magic, Hermione stares at the puddle where Dolohov was. A sob breaks her eyes away from the puddle, and she whips her head towards Harry just in time to see him close Ron’s eyes. She begins to stumble towards Harry, whose slumped form is shaking with tears. Suddenly a dark fog appears behind Harry and a vague outline of a figure could be seen. She wonders if this is Harry’s magic protecting himself by wielding a foe glass type spell to check for close Death Eaters. That thought shatters as a long fingered, spider-like hand appears and grabs the edge of the fog, like grabbing a window seal, and gracefully pulls himself into the room. Hermione stops dead in her tracks at the intimidating sight of Lord Voldemort, wand raised to the back of Harry’s head. Before she can even scream to signal Harry of his impending doom, Voldemort confidently says in his cruel, high pitched voice, “Avada Kedavra!”

The now familiar green light hits Harry directly in the back of his skull and his body falls lifelessly onto the prone chest of Ron. Voldemort chuckles almost giddily at the sight of his final obstacle slain. Hermione, having just witnessed the murder of the people closest to her, sinks to the ground in shocked despair, her eyes never leaving her fallen friends.

As Voldemort begins one of his long winded monologues, Hermione distantly realizes that the remaining Order members are slowly filtering into the Great Hall. She hears the pricing laugh of Voldemort once more before he removes Harry’s head clean off his body. Blood from the stub flows freely onto Ron’s pale skin and Harry’s head is lifted high into the hair by those blood covered, spider like fingers. Harry’s wise green eyes stare blankly at the horrified faces of those he once loved and his lifeless mouth opens with a slight, pop!

As Hermione stares into those unseeing eyes, everything that was once numb shock is replaced by fiery rage. All at once, she lost control over her fury and magic blew out from inside her, ranging over all of Hogwarts. The foundation of the very castle shook as she met the bright red eyes of Voldemort. Their eyes locked together and his grew wide as he realized at the same time as her the sentient magic of Hogwarts herself swirled up and intertwined with Hermione’s. That wasn’t Hermione’s main focus though. The only thing that was at the forefront of Hermione’s mind was vengeance. She desperately thought, If only he wasn’t this strong, this powerful, had this insane following. I wish he wasn’t this dangerous and this experienced so that I would somehow be able to do something!

Her attention snaps away from the hopeless thoughts of revenge to the golden glow that seems to all at once appear all around the Great Hall. She looks down from Harry’s head to her sternum where the light glows the brightest. A inhuman, high pitch screech is torn from Voldemort as he watches with Hermione as her body begins to fade. Her once solid body begins to blur along the edges and become almost transparent. The golden glow emanating from her chest gets brighter and brighter until there is no visible indication that Hermione was even there anymore.

Voldemort begins to advance towards the light, showcasing no fear of the unknown magic. As he gets closer, his vibrant red eyes meet the furious golden of Hermione’s. His approach quickens before the light seems to explode and he is there no longer.

Hermione startles awake to the sound of hundreds of footsteps. She looks up into the twinkling blue eyes of a much younger Albus Dumbledore before promptly fainting.


End file.
